Love For Blood
by NightmareBeforeSunrise
Summary: Savannah is a new slayer, sent to Santa Carla to fight the forces of darkness. However, how will she cope when she finds that her new love interest is the very thing she has been sent to kill? And what happens when an even bigger foe opposes her and the boys? Marko/ OC Set a few years after the series finale of Angel.
1. Chapter 1

_Beautiful. Just beautiful. So calm and peaceful at this time of day, _Savannah thought to herself as she watched the ocean from her perch high on the cliff. The sun had begun to set and was dipping into the sea, with warm oranges and reds being casted from it in soft rays.

She loved watching the sun go down, because that meant that the party could begin.

It had been three years since the deaths of Buffy and Faith, and her watcher had came to her and told her of her destiny, her path as the chosen one. The fight in Los Angeles had been the turning point. The fight claimed many lives, including the ones on the side of evil. Well, mostly. Vampires and demons still wandered the earth, but not in such a large numbers as before.

She now resided in Santa Carla for one purpose and one purpose only- its title. Murder capital of the world. She didn't believe that, since there was no Hellmouth here and one still remained in Cleveland, but still she came at the order of her watcher to do her job. To slay.

The cool breeze caused her long, waist-length strawberry hair to flutter as the last traces of red left the sky, and she stood up.

Her boots made a crunching sound as she made her way down the gravel path, towards the light filled boardwalk.

She huddled inside her black leather jacket. Although Savannah was of a slightly bigger build than previous slayers, and lacked any sort of height, she was not unpleasant to look at. Her dark strawberry hair looked like ignited flame against her usual black attire. Her pale skin made her grey eyes stood out beautifully as she scanned the area.

She soon met the boardwalk rush. The usual people were laughing and joking, basically having fun. As she walked, she checked for any suspicious characters among the throngs of people. As she did, stall holders tried to get her to buy trinkets and gypsies wanted to tell her fortune, but she just shook her head gently in refusal.

After about an hour of patrolling, with no luck, she planted her butt onto one of the seats next to the bar in a club called the "Twista". She ordered a pint and dished out her cash. She didn't have a job, slaying took up most of her time, but a lot of the demons and vamps who she killed had quite a bit of cash on them, so, in a way, she got paid.

The drink was very bitter, but she needed it tonight. She was feeling discontented, and what bugged her more was that she didn't even know why. Probably lack of slayidge. The drink felt cool in her throat and she gulped it down, liking the comfort it gave her.

Her 'spidey' senses began to tingle. It was when she turned to leave that she felt a pair of lone eyes watching her. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling, as she was rather used to it. Many demons stalked her before they sprung. If she was right about her surveyor, her unhappy mood would soon been fixed. No beast would pass the opportunity for fresh meat, especially when it wanders out into the night alone.

The cold air hit Savannah's skin as she left through the fire exit, making her shudder. After taking a few paces into the alleyway, she turned, expecting to find some creature of the night. Instead, silence and darkness greeted her. She was so sure of her pursuer that she had even gripped the hunting knife inside her jacket. Letting out a sigh, she walked out of the alleyway, disappointment in the air.

She patrolled the length of the boardwalk, hopes for a hunt deflating with each passing moment. Part way through her journey, she sat down on one of the wooden benches. She rubbed her feet which were now sore from walking.

'Hey,' a male voice sounded. She lifted her head. Her eyes rested upon an oval face with crystal blue eyes, and soft curly blonde hair that travelled down his back. It was almost the same length as Savannah's. But what really caught her attention was his jacket, covered with all sorts of colours and patches, tassels falling down one arm.

'I think I saw you at the club earlier'. He was leaning against the back of the seat, a Cheshire cat smile lingering on his lips.

'Did you now.' Her guard was only partially up. He had caught her in her own thoughts.

'Why are you all alone?' She looked into his youthful eyes. They danced with mischief. 'A girl like you shouldn't be alone in a place like this, it could be dangerous.'

'I can take care of myself' Savannah challenged. He smiled and sat next to her on the bench.

'I never said you couldn't'.

'You implied it'.

'Well aren't you firey? Why so defensive?' He queried.

'Maybe my mother told me never to speak to strangers'. Her face held a glint of a smirk. She was enjoying the banter. His cheeky attitude and gorgeous face didn't hurt either.

'Well if no one ever spoke to strangers, then the world would be a very lonely place, wouldn't it?' At this, her smile lit up.

'I guess so. Anyone ever tell you that you are kind of a know it all? You seem to think you have an answer for everything'.

'That's because I do. I'm a well of endless knowledge.' He said jokingly as he laughed. Savannah shifted her weight on the bench to look at him properly as she tittered. She felt her defences slowly falling.

'Well then, Mr. Knowledge, how about you tell me what I'm thinking?' She raised her brow. He raised one hand to his temple, and reached one toward Savannah's in a humorous gesture. He closed his eyes and pretended to concentrate.

'Hmmmmmm. You were thinking, _I should take this strapping young man on a ride_',

She giggled as she spoke, 'Strapping? Who talks like that anymore? And look who's blowing his own trumpet!'

Dropping his hands and placing a mock frown on his face he said, 'Well if you insult me I won't go on that ride that you want me to'.

She laughed. 'I wasn't even thinking that anyway, buster!'

'I bet you were'.

'Nuh- uh'. A moment of silence.

'Well how about you go on a ride with me anyway?' He kept his Cheshire smile. It was a secret smile. It piqued her interest and made her heart flutter a little at the same time. She paused. She should really get back to patrolling. She wasn't here to have fun. She was here to do her job.

He saw her hesitation. 'Go on. What's the point in life if you don't take a chance on someone once in a while?' He stood and offered his hand, all the while grinning. The youth in her fought the slayer in her. She was allowed to have fun _and_ save the world, right?

'I guess _one_ ride couldn't hurt'. She said as she rose, batting away her niggling thoughts. She walked with him, her enthusiasm radiating. After all, what's the worst that could happen?

Marko had approached this girl as prey, but now they were having a blast. He genuinely liked her, and that was a rare thing. There was something about her that sparked his interest, from when she first opened her mouth.

'Want to go on another?'

'No, no! No more, you'll make me sick!'

'Come on, just one more ride.'

'No seriously, anymore and my gut goes out the window!'

Laughing, he led her down to the almost deserted beach and sat down as they talked.

'So, tell me about yourself Marko. Do you have any family?'

'Yes. Well, sort of. They're not relatives, but they're the ones I always go to. We aren't family as such, but we look out for one another. You?'

'Only a brother, and he still lives in England. We don't see each other that much anymore.'

'Oh.'

'It's all right. It doesn't bother me anymore, the open road is my company now.' She said with a flourish of her hand.

'You have a car?'

'No, motorbike.'

'Really? I have one too. We're getting more and more in common with each other every minute.' He smiled. Did he have a crush on this girl? _No, don't be stupid, she's a human._

'Seem's like. So…it's getting late, maybe I should head back.'

'Do you want me to take you home?'

'Yeah, that would be great Marko.'

Maybe he was wrong. Maybe there was something there.

They got to his motorbike. She hopped on behind him, hands on his shoulders, supporting her until she had got onto the bike properly. Her hands wandered down to his stomach, were they held tightly.

Driving in the cold night, she clung tightly to him and told him where to go. Houses whizzed by and hotel lights blazed at them as they got closer to Savannah's home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~#

He helped her off of the bike, and she led him to her front door steps.

'You know I had a great time tonight Marko,' she said bounding up the steps.

'Me too' He beamed his smile. 'So, like, should I meet you again?' He tried to sound cool and less interested than he really was.

'If you think you're brave enough,' she dared. He laughed.

'Okay, pick you up at nine tomorrow night?'

'How about we have lunch instead? I get kinda busy most nights'. She really shouldn't put off her slayer duties for a second night in a row.

'Nah, daytime isn't good for me. I have… family commitments."

Her slayer senses kicked back in at that point, 'Why not come round about dinnertime? Isn't that late enough?' _In the daytime_, she thought.

'There was this new club I wanted to take you to, it opens at nine.'

'Oh, okay.' He just didn't want to take her out for food because of a club, no biggy, right?

'So, I'll pick you up at nine o'clock then?' He reaffirmed.

'This is usually were I would say, "No. I'll pick _you _up at nine." But I don't know where you live.'

'Maybe you might find out sometime. A slick smile toyed about his lips.

'Yeah. Well, see ya tomorrow, then!'

'Bye.' He kept his eyes on her as he walked back to his bike.

Savannah shoved her hand into her bag and pulled out the keys to her apartment, jammed it into the lock and pushed open the door, while Marko revved up and sped off.

It was a small place with only a kitchen diner, bathroom, a space just enough to fit a dingy sofa and a small T.V in for the living room, and then there was her room.

As she walked into the bathroom and began stripping to have a shower, she remembered her conversation with her watcher a few weeks back and then the one with Marko tonight.

'_Now Savannah, remember, not all vampires are as obvious about their…appetites as others. The reason for so many killings in Santa Carla is not only because of the population size, but because there are so many new and vulnerable people arriving there each day who don't know who to trust. And most of the victims are mainly girls in their early twenties…see where I'm going with this?'_

'_Yeah, you're telling me to watch my back 'cause you've just described me in a nutshell. But seriously, don't worry. I'll be fine. I'm the slayer.'_

'_You're also a young woman looking for a good time. It could just as easily be you. I worry for your safety.'_

'_Listen S, I'll be fine. Don't sweat.' Savannah had always called her watcher S, as it was quicker than his actual name, Sebastian. And less embarrassing._

'_Please, just watch out for any boys that come your way, and make sure to see them during the day.'_

'_Don't be such a square. I know how to do my job.'_

And know Savannah was going back on that and meeting again with a boy she has only known for a few hours. During night time.

…'_Nah, daytime isn't good for me. I have… family commitments.' …'Why not come round about dinnertime? Isn't that late enough?'…_

She needed to know if this guy was for real, or for blood.

The hot shower soothed her as she thought this over. She would take a few things with her tomorrow night. Crucifix, holy water, the usual. She didn't think she'd need them, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

The air outside the lost cave was cold, but Marko didn't feel it, and if a huge gust of wind came, his face would be stuck in that cheeky smile that he wore. He didn't know what it was about Savannah that made him feel this way. Was it just his over active sex drive in seeing her in those figure hugging clothes? Or did he actually like this woman? He got off of his bike and headed to the entrance. He heard the familiar sound of Paul singing along to Guns and roses as he jigged about the broken fountain.

'What kept you, man? Sun's gonna be up in about 3 hours, and David wants to cause some havoc on the beach before- hey, dude, what you smilin' about?' he asked as he flicked a long, blonde stray hair from his face.

'Nothin'.

'Nah, it's gotta be something. Hey! Did my little Marko get lucky? Ah ha ha!' Paul whooped as he jumped off the fountain and began to dance around the cave, coat tails flapping. He gestured with his two fingers spread and a licking motion.

'No, I didn't get lucky,' Marko stated.

'Then what dude? Cuz, like, you couldn't have found anything else better than sex, and if you didn't get fucked, then I'm outta options on your grin.'

'I just had a good night. Where are the others anyway?' he asked.

'David's in the book room and Dwayne said he'd meet us up later cuz he hadn't fed yet.' He gave Marko a once over and said, 'And by the looks of it, you haven't either.'

'Yes, Marko, and what could have possibly been so pressing as to not go?' came David's cool, hard voice from the shadows in the dimly lit cave. He stepped forward, his ankle length black leather coat swaying slightly against his hips. Those piercing blue eyes never left Marko until Paul spoke.

'Dunno, man. He won't give. I thought he got laid, but he said no.'

Obviously David decided not to press the matter, because he dismissed the subject and picked up his motorbike keys, then headed out the entrance. The other two took the silent command and headed towards their bikes. The boys jumped onto their bikes and sped off towards the beach, just in enough time to catch some action before the sun came up.

Wandering down the sandy beach, Rachel stopped and turned, thinking she heard a noise. Nothing. Then, out of the shadows shot a hand and grabbed for her. Her heart pounded as she screamed. She tried to make a break for it, but the hand was too strong and pulled her in.

Fangs sank into the golden, sun-tanned flesh on her neck, the coppery blood oozing out of the wound.

The body went limp in Marko's arms as the last of her life's blood was drained from her body. It dripped off of his chin and stained the front of his shirt. Licking his lips, he strode over to the others who were waiting for him.

'Marko, she was a sexy Chico goddess! You could have at least copped a feel!,' said Paul. Dwayne made a grunt of agreement.

'I was too hungry.'

'Obviously. What's with you tonight?' piped up Paul.

'Nothin'. Now are we gonna have some fun or not!' he cheered partly changing the subject. _I'm not that out of it tonight am I? _He thought.

The other guys joined him, and the Lost Boys pack headed off to find the fun.

Savannah awoke to the sound of her alarm clock buzzing from her small bedside table, taking her out of her dreamless sleep and into the real world. **1:45pm **it flashed in bright red numbers, illuminating her face.

She stumbled out of bed and pulled a brush through her knotty, tangled mess of hair. It proved to be a difficult task because of its length and the fact that the hair bobble she wore in bed was caught up in it. When she finally managed to make her hair look half decent enough, she plodded into the kitchen and boiled the kettle to make a mug of hot chocolate. She plonked herself onto one of the stools at the hatch-way that went through to face the living room.

Sipping from the mug, she thought about Marko. He said he was taking her to a club tonight, and not to sound superficial, but she didn't have a clue what she was going to wear. _Nothing too drastic, and nothing too casual, _she thought.

As Savannah pondered about tonight, Marko hung from the sleeping bar in the sleeping room. He was upside down, arms crossed, as he had done for every day since his turn to vampirism around 40 years ago.

He dreamt of that fateful night, when he had met the Lost Boys, his soon to be pack.

It was 1969, the wind howled and the rain fell, but Marko didn't care. He was far from the oppression of his father, making his own way. He had little money and no job. Regardless of the bleakness of his future, he had never felt better. He was free, riding on his motorbike, through the cheering crowds and hippy music. He was alive.

Jumping off his ride, he saw three guys with bikes as impressive as his, talking and occasionally looking his way. He shrugged it off and headed toward the on-street diner to order a burger and a soda, then off for a night on the boardwalk.

Chewing on his food, he saw them again, outside the diner-café. He tried to ignore their presence, but it kept on nibbling at the edge of his mind, though he didn't know why. He finished with his burger and chose to ignore the fries that he also ordered, and started to the boardwalk. He felt a prickle at the back of his neck. The guys were following him, and they knew that he knew they were.

Marko turned into the tobacco shop, and there they were, watching as he paid for his smokes and as he left the shop, heading towards his bike.

Without turning round, he spoke, 'Why are you following me?'

There was several sniggers as replies, then a tall blonde haired, blue eyed one said, 'Just think you look kind of lonely.' Marko stopped and turned. They had gone. He turned back and there was the tall blonde. 'I like your bike. Wanna come ride with us? We got ours, you got yours. Do you know where Hudson's Bluff is?' he asked.

'Yeah, it's overlookin' the point.'

Blondie laughed softly. 'Yeah, it is.' He offered out his hand. 'I'm David.'

He took it, still unsure. 'Marko.'

'Well Marko, come on.'

'I don't think so.'

'Come on, what have you got to lose?'

He paused. He didn't really have many friends in this town yet. He could use some. He nodded and made his way to his bike, noting that whilst David was speaking, the two other guys had gone and got their bikes and placed David's next to his. They all hopped on and revved their motors. When they raced off into the night, whooping and yelling loudly, Marko joined in. As he did, he noticed David turn his head slightly behind to smirk a knowing smile in his direction.

The dream then flashed to Marko drinking the blood-wine, becoming one of them. Becoming a creature of the night, willingly. After a time, David had shown Marko what they were, and offered him immortality. A life of freedom and all night partying. He accepted, feeling the oppression of his life slipping away.

In his dream, he could not taste the wine, but his conscious remembered it well. The copper taste of usual blood, but the slight edge of vampire taste to it. It flowed down his throat, boiling in his veins.

The boys cheered and took Marko in their arms. Then the dream flashed again, to his first kill.

Her blood was so warm and luxurious to him, he drank from her vigorously, the ecstasy of the kill high. He panted as he let go. As the blood poured over his chin, he looked at the body. The whole entire dream had been the same as his memories. However, when he looked at the face of his victim, it wasn't the blonde victim he had claimed that night, but Savannah, lifeless on the floor.

Marko stirred from slumber to find David, Paul and Dwayne calling to him, waiting down below. It was time again to feed.

Ding-dong. The doorbell to Savannah's apartment sounded, telling Savannah that Marko was here.

Skidding along the laminate flooring, she caught the door handle ,stopped sliding, and swung open the door. Marko stood there with his motor bike keys in one hand, grinning up at her.

'Hi.' She said.

'Hey. Ready to go?'

'Yeah, sure.' Then she looked down at her feet and reconsidered, 'Helpful if I was wearing my shoes and not my fluffy purple slippers to go in.' And smiled.

'Yeah, doesn't exactly go with the halter neck and skirt, which by the way looks really nice.' He said, beaming from ear to ear at her choice of clothing.

'Thanks. Just a sec and I'll get my shoes.' She walked to a door and opened it, then pulled out a pair of knee-high black buckled boots, then chucked her slippers in. She could feel him looking at her butt as she bent over to pull them on. She couldn't help but lean a little further down so that he could get an eyeful more. She cast a glance at him and saw that she got the reaction she wanted, he was practically drooling, eyes fixated on her body.

'Want me to get you a cold shower?' She gleamed at him. He looked at her face and put on an embarrassed look.

Laughing, she grabbed for her leather jacket, and walked to the door. Her low heels clicked on the floor as she went down the steps and locked the door. She fumbled with the keys for a moment in the lock, then turned to face Marko.

'Let's go.' He said heading towards his bike.

'Kay.'

She sat on his bike as on the night before, and tightened her arms around him. They set off, and to her surprise, he leaned back into her a little more, pushing his tight little body up against hers. She wasn't going to lie. It felt great. Savannah clung onto him tighter.

Building blocks flew by and people chatted on the sidewalks of Santa Carla, all with smiles plastered on their faces and ice creams in their hands. They drove on the boardwalk through the crowds and lights, then out through the other side.

_Where are we going? I thought all the clubs were on the boardwalk._ Savannah thought to herself.

The mass of people got less and less as they drove further away from the boardwalk, and then, Marko stopped the bike and hopped off in a quiet street. Too quiet.

'What are we doing here?'

'The club is down there.' He pointed at a dark alleyway. Alarm bells screamed. Savannah didn't trust him now. He was sending her into a dark alleyway, with no one around.

She cautiously stepped forward. Suddenly, Marko pushed her against the wall. Taken by surprise she started to lift her fist. Then she felt the crush of his lips on hers. It took only a moment for her to regain her composure, and respond. His lips tasted salty, like the sea. The warmth of his against her was both welcome and slightly arousing. She didn't want to part from his warm mouth, but sense told her different from her body's desire, and she pushed him back slightly, separating them.

'Marko.' She breathed heavily.

'I'm …sorry. I've wanted to do that since last night.' He panted. She just looked at him, then stepped up closer.

'So where's the entrance to this club then?' And she smiled, taking his hand.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so…forceful' he trailed off, worried. For a moment, his bloodlust had taken over, and he almost lost control. If it weren't for Savannah's sweet response to the kiss, he might have. _Is that so bad? C'mon man, you do stuff like that every night, it's what you do to survive. And what's more, you enjoy it. This is just another girl who's gonna end up as a snack; or by judging from her looks, a feisty feed, _the demon in him encouraged.

Feed. That word pounded in his mind hard and wouldn't go away.

'Don't sweat it. It's nice to see a man with passion.' She grinned as she turned to find the entrance.

'Down here.' He said guiding her down the alleyway. He held her arm lightly as he did, feeling her muscle underneath, surprisingly large for a girl, but dainty enough for her slender posture.

His eyes moved from the darkness to her beautiful face, then slid to her throat. Her translucent skin revealed her bold blue veins, singing with fresh blood. It was just begging to be ripped open and drank dry. His fangs lengthened and eyes glowed amber, a familiar dark force taking over him.


	2. Chapter 2

**2. A matter of control:**

Savannah started to walk towards the entrance, but paused when she noticed Marko did not follow. She glanced back at him.

'Marko?' she said, turning. He still had his hand on her arm, but he had stopped moving. Everything about him, his touch, his stance, it all felt incredibly wrong to Savannah. He wasn't looking at her, but looking at the ground. There was something in his eyes he did not want her to see.

Marko kept his head down, trying to fight the bloodlust impulse once again. This was going to be a hard night. He began to tremble slightly. He wouldn't be able to keep control for much longer. He could already imagine the taste of her blood in his mouth.

He pushed her forward towards the big, thick metal doors of the club, trying to give himself something to do, getting the image of him ripping open her throat out of his mind.

As soon as the doors opened, the scent of blood and sex hit him straight away, taking his focus from Savannah and to all others in the room.

'Hey, you okay Marko?'

'Yeah, could you just wait for me a minute? I need the little boy's room. Stay here.' He still hadn't looked at her yet, and hurried off to the opposite side of the club. He came onto the first female who looked at him appealingly, and danced with her real close.

'Want to come with me?' he whispered into her ear, voice husky. He placed a hand on her ass.

'Yeah.' He led her by the waist to the back room, and checked to see if anyone was there.

When he actually looked at her properly, she gasped at his appearance. She hadn't noticed in the dark of the club before, and she screamed as he leaped for her and grabbed the back of her head, exposing her veins to him.

_Where did he go? Something is definitely up with him. _

As the words were going through Savannah's head, she was approached by a big burly man in his late twenties. He was wearing leather trousers, black silver toed boots and a sleeveless jacket that exposed his hairy chest.

'Hey gurl, wanna dance?' He shouted over the pounding music.

'No thanks, I'm with someone.' She replied, trying to make this as civilised as possible. But it looked like he wasn't giving up.

'Well then were is he? I don't see nobody. C'mon gurl, just a dance.' He gripped her arm and started walking.

'I said no, god damnit!' She dug her heels into the floor and brought them to a stand still, trying to rip her arm out of his grasp.

'Hey! The lady said no.' Marko appeared out of nowhere and stood beside her.

She took this distracted opportunity to wrench out of the guys hands and flip him to the floor. The big buy fell like a ton of bricks by her feet.

'Whoa!' Marko gaped at her. 'Where on earth did you learn that?'

'Um… learned karate as a kid?..' She quickly lied. She coughed and tried to head to the bar. 'Drink?

The man on the floor began to recover.'Ow! My back. You're gonna pay for that!' He spoke as he clambered off of the floor.

'Don't think so somehow.' She sighed and turned to face him.

He started towards her, then Marko stepped in the way.

'Just go,' he said. 'Leave her alone. You're only going to turn this into a fight, and I don't want to have to hurt you…much.'

The guys eyes squinted in fury and ignored Marko. Big mistake. He was grabbed by the throat until he was starved for oxygen, leaving him red in the face. By this time, people had begun gathering around to see what all the fuss was about, standing open mouthed.

'What do you want to do about this?' he asked Savannah, blonde hair swaying slightly as he inclined his head to the man he held.

'I would have liked you to let me fight my own battles. I'm not a porcelain doll, I'm not that easy to break. Just put him down.' Then she turned her attention back to the man. 'But if you do anything else, I'll set my little rottweiler onto you. Or worse- I'll do something to you myself.' She smirked.

He nodded breathlessly and was dropped.

'Oi, you two, get out. Now!' The bouncer strode between them and the man, hiding him from Savannah's view. 'And you' He gestured to the man. 'Scram! Move!'

Marko and Savannah headed to the door, and were pushed out by the African guy at the door.

'Now that's just insulting! Geez, it's not like I asked the sleezoid to come onto me. He was the one who made the first move against me, not the other way around!'

'Sorry, I shouldn't have left you.' Then Marko tuned to face her, a questioning in his eyes. 'How did you do that, I mean, the good moves are explained by training, but the strength! Ive never seen a girl do that.'

Silence greeted this, until Savannah could stand it no more.

'I'm just gifted. I work out a lot.' She mumbled. He looked at her sceptically, then finally accepted her response with a slow nod.

'So we got kicked outta the club. How badass are we?' She smiled humorously. 'But where to now?'

'Where do you want to go?'

'How about for a bite to eat? There's a pizza place just a few blocks away from here if it's still open. Shouldn't be hard to find.'

'Okay.' He nodded. 'I'm buyin'.

Marko started up his bike as soon as Savannah got comfortable, and zoomed round the corner to the direction of the pizza place.

The aluminous sign buzzed a bright green and orange, lighting up the space in which they had parked. Savannah's face was also beautifully lit up from the glow. He noticed for the first time that she wore a silver cross necklace, just under her halter neck, hidden from view. _Was she hiding the cross? Maybe it just slid under whilst she was getting dressed? Doesn't matter, I just need to be careful of it. Just don't touch it._

He helped her off the bike, even though she probably didn't need it, and they headed in. Savannah sat at a table in the far corner, and began to flick through the list of pizzas. Just before he sat down, he noticed she was sat right next to the window…window…reflection…oops. He quickly stood by the specials board next to her, were his reflection, or lack thereof, was covered.

'Come on and sit at this table here.' he motioned towards a place were his non-existent reflection could not be noticed.

'Why?' she asked suspiciously.

'Because…because that one has got some pizza sauce left on it. This one is clean.' _Thank god for pizza sauce!_, he thought.

'Well, I can always get some tissue and clean it up, no biggy, or I could get a worker to come and wipe it for us.'

'Nah, too much hassle. C'mon.'

She looked at him for a moment. 'Fine.' she said getting up.

_I've gotta be more careful!_

She sat at the table with Marko, and she once again began to flick through the choices of pizza.

'What are you having?' she asked.

'Um…I'll share with whatever you're having. That is, if you don't mind. I ate earlier.' Well he wasn't exactly lying.

'Okay. Ham and pineapple cool?'

Marko nodded.

The waitress came over in her short dress and apron, hair scrapped back in a ponytail, to take their order.

'Pineapple with ham, and… what do you want to drink?'

'Coke.' She responded.

'And two cokes. Thanks.' He sent a beaming smile in her direction. The woman bounded away and disappeared behind the counter.

'So… you told me last night about your friends, well you called them your family. Tell me some more.' She asked of him.

'Well there's Dwayne, Paul and our...sort of leader, David. He's the responsible one. Paul likes to get high and smoke weed. But it's the only thing that keeps him calm and mellow, so we don't hassle him about it. He's the wild child party animal. Then Dwayne… he's kinda quiet, never says much. Neither does David a lot of the time, but he really takes his commanding role sometimes, and in an argument he usually wins.'

'Why?'

'Because of one basic fact. He's leader… It's almost like an unwritten rule.'

'Sounds oppressive.' Savannah commented.

'Nah, we don't get into arguments much. We just like to chill. We have good fun. No responsibilities. We usually party a lot, or go ride down the beach on our bikes.'

'Sounds like fun, bet you wish it could last forever.'

'Yeah, I do.' _And it will. I wonder how she'd react if she knew I was old enough to be her dad? _He smiled to his self. 'I'll take you to meet them sometime. You'd like them.'

'Awesome. I haven't gotten to know many people around here really.' She smiled. Marko found it amusing that he was in a similar position back when he first met the boys.

The pizza arrived then, and was plonked in front of the couple. Savannah picked up a slice and began chewing at it, trying to pull away the slice from the rest of the pizza, covered in stringy cheese. Marko laughed and began prying his own slice away, occasionally looking at his date, smiling as she dropped a bit, or when some cheese began sliding down her face.

'Damn that was good pizza.' Savannah spoke as she threw down her grease stained napkin. Marko leaned back in his seat, rubbing his belly. 'Yeah.'

He grinned at her. She had eaten that pizza with the ferocity of a hungry jungle cat. When he told her so, she laughed and swatted at him. He leaned over and brought his hand to her face. She paused, wondering what he was doing. He then swiped at a bit of sauce on the corner of her mouth. His hand lingered slightly, and brushed her face softly as it came down to his lap.

'Thanks.' She blushed as the moment changed from one of frivolity to heat.

_Okay girl. Time to enact plan A of the vamp check- the cross. Brush hair, loosen tie on string and let it drop._

Savannah reached for her hair brush in her tiny bag and began brushing, slightly leaning away from the table so not to be rude about getting hairs over it. She made her way to the back and began working the string loose, in order for the cross to fall on the floor. Once she realised it had come undone, she put the brush away. She signalled for them to leave, hoping that it would fall off before she climbed onto the bike.

She stood and Marko followed. Luck was on her side. The cross tinkled onto the pavement as they walked through the doors, bouncing a bit before finally coming to a stop by Marko's' foot.

'Savannah, you've dropped your cross.' Marko called to her, thinking she hadn't noticed. After taking a couple of steps, she spun round. She feigned surprise and felt round her neck for it.

'Oops, could you pick it up for me?' she asked. It was right by him. _This is it, if he does and it burns, he's a vamp. Though not many vamps would be THAT stupid. Well, most of the time. _

'Please.' she said.

If Marko had a beating heart, it would have stopped then. He looked down at the shiny object, cursing his… well, curse.

_What do I do? _he puzzled frenziedly. _If I pick it up, it's gonna burn, and if I don't, she's gonna either think I'm a prick, or that something's up. An aversion to crosses? She might even figure out what I am. _

He bent down, even when every fibre of his body told him to back off and run away. He touched the religious object. A firey heat spread along his skin. His inner demon wanted to hiss and scream at the white hot pain in his right hand, wanted to throw it across the street, making it lost in the gutter. _Aaaah, shit!_, he let out a mental scream. But he kept his composure. No painful look in his eyes betrayed his agony, and no sound escaped his barely trembling lips. To anyone else, he was fine. To anyone who didn't see the red scorch marks on his cindered flesh, that is.

He passed it to Savannah and quickly shoved his hands into his pockets, so she couldn't see the marks, breathing in relief.

Then Marko remembered that David would have heard his mental cry and would think he's in trouble. Pack bonding allowed them to be able to hear a sent out message to one another. Mind reading is a bastard sometimes. He amended his mistake by shouting the mental message: _I'm okay David_.

Savannah walked over to his bike and waited until he had gotten on before taking her seat behind him, wrapping her arms round his waist.

'Where are we going to go?' she asked.

'Where do you want to go?' he responded.

'I chose the pizza place, it's your turn to choose.'

He gave it a thought for a moment. 'I have an idea.' Then he revved up the engine and kicked his bike into action.

The wind blew hard in their faces as he rushed down the old creek path to the cliffs. He wasn't taking her to Hudson's Bluff just yet, the pack would sense she was there and Marko wanted to be the one to tell them about her. And David would probably insist she come into the Lost cave were he will give her the blood wine, and Marko wasn't sure about what he was going to do about Savannah right now. Turning her too soon could cause her to go against them, not that she'd win. But Marko wanted to build her trust first, then decide whether he was going to make her pack, or eat her. Sounds blunt I know, but it was the choice Marko had to make, and soon before David ordered which action he thought best.

The bike stopped about 3 metres from the edge of the cliff, and Marko got off.

'Where are we?'

'Clumans point, I come here when things get too stressful, or when an argument's brewing up in the ca- my home.' _Remember, gotta be careful what I say around her, she might have wondered why the fuck I live in a cave if I had finished off that sentence how I intended._

'Things get stressful often?'

'No, not really, but when a fight happens with us, it's usually a big one. David's the one to starts it most of the time, but he always finishes it, got the extra kick of being leader.'

'You talk about David being the leader, why is he?'

'Because…I suppose we need someone to keep us on our toes and not get into so much trouble that we get put in prison or something. David just seems to be the best one for the job. Cool and collected, but commanding when he wants to be. And we all respect him. He's the oldest of us all.'

'Do you ever wish you could be leader?'

'No, I respect David too much, plus it's not exactly the most easiest task in the world. I like being the youngest, have less responsibilities. And I know that if I was ever in trouble, they'll come and help me. We look out for one another.'

'Can't wait to meet 'em.' She responded. Marko smiled.

They stood there for a while in silence, listening to the wind howl, and watched the sea bash against the rocks. It wasn't until five minutes had passed by before Marko spoke again.

'What time do you have to be home by?'

'Whenever I want. It's not like I live with my parents, Marko, there's no curfew.'

'I know that, I just meant, won't you be late for work in the morning if you stay up too late?'

'No, I… don't have a job.'

'Oh, really? Why?'

'Don't need one, got enough money already. Not saying I'm loaded or anything, but…well you get what I'm sayin'.'

'Yeah..I think.' And she laughed. Marko paused a minute, contemplating on the question he was going to ask her. Then found a way to put it.

'I know this sounds a little personal Savannah, but, why did you come to Santa Carla? It's got some bad elements around here, surely you know about its reputation.'

'Like you?' She joked. His smile was forced, because she didn't know how right she was.

'No, seriously'.

'Yeah, I do know about its reputation, and I know I can handle myself.' Not exactly answering his question.

'Sorry, didn't want to pry.'

'S'okay. So, got anything else planned for the night? I mean, this is nice and all, but not much conversation is bein' thrown round.'

'You're right. I don't want to end the night just yet, but I can't think of anything to do'.

'Well why don't we go to the amusement arcade? Chill out, goof off?'

The arcade had been fun, but it was now almost 1am, so Savannah called it a night and he dropped her off at her house. When she opened the door, the giant teddy bear that Marko brought her refused to go in, and got its head caught on numerous occasions. She hurried inside and sat on the small couch with her new possessions that both Marko and her had won or brought.

_Tonight I didn't prove anything, I didn't prove he was a vampire. _

_-But doesn't that mean he isn't a vampire? _

_-What about his hand, he put them in his pockets right away, he must've hurt them._

_-Or he could just have been cold._

_-Well then, what about him choosing a seat that wasn't near a window?_

_-Maybe he just couldn't be arsed to get the pizza sauce cleaned off the table._

_And I don't sound slightly schizophrenic at all. _She thought dryly.

Savannah was as confused as hell. She genuinely liked the guy, but she couldn't let her slayer side slide. It was things like this that got her kicked out of high school. Now she did this for a living, kicking vampire ass. That was the only problem being the slayer, all the damn vampires.

_I seriously need to get out more, and Marko is helping me do just that, maybe he's what I need to get some of my life back. And if he is a vampire, I'll probably find out sooner or later. Remember, my grandma always said, don't go looking for trouble, because trouble will come looking for you. This is a lot of worry over nothing and time will prove it. Hopefully. Maybe. Ugh._

And so it was decided, Savannah wouldn't try to find any imperfections with Marko, vampire or otherwise, until the facts presented themselves to her, without being forced.

Marko looked back on all the things done and said tonight between him and Savannah, and came to the decision that he would tell the Pack about her, and let things flow from there. Marko usually found it hard to talk to someone and really click with them, but when he did, they got on like a house on fire. He should know. He only started one last week on the hillside, toasting his victims after drinking their blood. That was fun. But to get back on topic, he thought Savannah had a similar mind to him, and that really worked. If she was turned, she wouldn't be a pathetic wimp, she could bask in the glory of what she was, with him at her side. But for now, those thoughts of her turning were only little ones at the back of his mind.

And for the present time, he was content only thinking about tomorrow, and what it might bring.  
'It's the second time you've come into the cave with that expression on your face, tell us Marko, why?' David said to him as his childe bounded into the home of the Lost Boys.

'There's something I want to tell you… I met someone.' He said shyly, which was very un- Marko- like.

'Ha! I knew it!' Paul jived around laughing again at Marko.

'Well, has she got a name? We await with baited breath Marko'. Marko could tell David was teasing him slightly.

'Savannah'.

'And are we going to meet this damsel? Or are you just going to keep her hidden in a box for ever?' David spoke.

'...I…wanted to get your approval…and…' he mumbled. He never liked admitting that he liked someone, especially not to David. Nor did he like having to ask for approval, though Marko knew as sire and friend, David would not deny Marko happiness with someone he liked. Obviously David was in a good mood tonight, as were the others, because none of them laughed anymore and none tried to hurry Marko.

'I want you to meet her, but I've only known her for two days myself…and...'

'You didn't know if that was enough to like this girl.' Dwayne interjected. 'Trust me Marko, if you like her, we trust your judgement. It's not often you find someone. Right David?' The look Dwayne passed to David spoke volumes. He wanted David to be gentle. The leader gave Dwayne a sideways glare for interfering, but nodded silently.

'I suppose.'

'So, tell us about her, man. Is she kinky?' Paul dove straight in.

'I don't kiss and tell.' he quickly jumped on the statement. Though if she was kinky in bed, he didn't know. _Guess I'll have to find out, _he smirked.

'That means yes.' Paul laughed, fiddling with his bike exhaust, trying to modify it.

'We'll find out about her personality when we meet her.' David ignored Paul's comment turning to Marko. 'Does she know about our little…secret?' His expression held a glint of darkness that Marko didn't wish to interpret.

'No. Thought it best to build her trust first.'

'Good. Some mortals can't handle that fact, so I think you're right. Have you been careful about any questions, like, why wont you come out in the day? That sort of thing? We need to be safe with mortals Marko'

'Of course, I'm not a newbie!' He defended. And then quickly humbled his self. 'But today she dropped her necklace and asked me to pick it up for her. It was a cross.' Marko remembered the pain and winced slightly.

'So that was what that was earlier. Wondered why you reached out like that.'

'Shit, Marko, you okay?' asked Paul, concerned. Marko stretched his hands out for the others to look at. Paul winced like Marko had done, 'Youch. That must've hurt.'

'Thank you Mr states the obvious, and the academy award goes to you. Does it still hurt?' David said in a neutral tone, turning his attention from one Pack member to another.

'A bit, not as much.'

'It comes keen the first time round. If you're ever stupid enough to do it again, it will hurt less.'

'Thank you for the advice, David. I will make sure I'm not so idiotic next time.' He said sarcastically. 'But it's not like I had a choice'.

'And if things don't go right with this girl, neither will I'. David quietly spoke the words hanging over Marko's own thoughts.

Everyone remained silent.


End file.
